Dunkirk

[ duhn-kurk ]
/ ˈdʌn kɜrk /

noun

French Dun·kerque [dœn-kerk] /dœ̃ˈkɛrk/. a seaport in N France: site of the evacuation of a British expeditionary force of over 330,000 men under German fire May 29–June 4, 1940.
a period of crisis or emergency when drastic measures must be enforced: The smaller nations were facing a financial Dunkirk.
a city in W New York, on Lake Erie.

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decorum
the act of or need for making up one's mind.
dignified propriety of behavior, speech, dress, etc.
a company of singers, especially an organized group employed in church service.
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Example sentences from the Web for dunkirk

Cultural definitions for dunkirk

Dunkirk

The scene of a remarkable, though ignominious, retreat by the British army in World War II. Dunkirk, a town on the northern coast of France, was the last refuge of the British during the fall of France, and several hundred naval and civilian vessels took the troops back to England in shifts over three days.

notes for Dunkirk

The term Dunkirk is sometimes used to signify a desperate retreat.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.